1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the manufacture of arsenious anhydride (As.sub.2 O.sub.3) from a substance containing arsenic sulfide.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Arsenic (As) which is contained in waste water is prevalently removed therefrom by being precipitated in the form of arsenic sulfide containing substance also (As.sub.2 S.sub.3). The recovered arsenic sulfide generally contains impurities.
A method generally followed in producing arsenious anhydride from such an arsenic sulfide-containing substance comprises extracting arsenic from the arsenic sulfide-containing substance into a copper sulfate-containing aqueous solution at an elevated temperature by use of an autoclave, thereby obtaining a solution containing arsenious acid in nearly a saturated concentration, and subsequently cooling the produced solution, thereby crystallizing the arsenious anhydride therein, and recovering the crystallized arsenious anhydride.
This method has the disadvantage that the procedure involved is dangerous because copper sulfide and solid impurities must be separated from the produced solution at an elevated temperature and the raw material requires careful selection or the produced arsenious anhydride will require repurification because impurities may possibly be crystallized simultaneously with the arsenious anhydride owing to the cooling method employed for the crystallization.
This disadvantage may be precluded by a method which comprises obtaining a solution containing arsenious acid in a low concentration, cooling this solution, removing copper sulfide and solid impurities, subsequently concentrating the remaining solution, by evaporation, and cooling the solution thereby crystallizing arsenious anhydride therein (as disclosed in JA-OS No. 54699/1977 laid open for public inspection in May 4, 1977, for example). However, this method has the disadvantage that the volumes of solutions to be treated are increased and the concentration of such solutions requires a large amount of thermal energy.